Rahul Gandhi Blames Death of Dalit Children in Haryana on PM’s ‘Attitude’

By DoThe Best
October 21, 2015 14:00

Here are the latest developments:

“This is an attitude shared by the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister, the BJP and the RSS – if somebody is weak, they can be crushed. What you are seeing is the result of this attitude,” Mr Gandhi said after meeting the family at the Sonped village. “This government is not for the poor”

Haryana is governed by the BJP, which also leads the ruling coalition at the Centre. Later in the day, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is also likely to visit the family.

The children– two-and-a-half year old Vaibhav and 11-month-old Divya – had died after their house was set on fire, allegedly by members of an upper caste community. Their mother Rekha, 28, is fighting for life with 70 per cent burns. Their father has sustained injuries too.

The family has alleged that the attack was the fallout of a long-standing feud with a group of upper caste people in the village.

The police, who were aware of the situation, had provided security to the Dalits for a year. Eight policemen – part of the team deployed – have been suspended.

Locals have blocked the Faridabad-Ballabhgarh highway outside the village. They want all the accused to be arrested.

Eleven people, including a father-son duo, have been booked in the case, but only 3 arrests have been made so far. The rest are absconding.

“We were sleeping when they poured petrol through the window. I smelt the petrol and tried to wake my wife but by then the fire had started. My children died in the fire,” said the children’s father Jitender, 31.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has called the incident “unfortunate” and said it “should not have happened”. He has called up the Haryana Chief Minister and asked him to ensure the safety of Dalit families.

The village, which is dominated by Thakurs and has only a few Dalit families, is tense and security has been tightened, the police said.